Of all the quotes, one stood out in particular, in my opinion, and that was one said by Browning. While few remain optimistic about Cincinnati's chances to win the division in 2014, Mr. Perfect does, and he made that clear to the crowd on hand.

"I expect them to win the division this year," he said. "I think we've got too good of a pitching staff, all the way through the rotation and the bullpen, to not win a lot of games. And I think our offense will have a little better success this year than they did last year. I hope they bring home the Central division crown."

To be fair, Browning did soften up his stance from the beginning of the paragraph to the last part, but it's clear that he is setting the bar high for the Reds, regardless of any negativity surrounding the team.

In a recent poll question conducted on the blog, which asked readers what place they believed the Reds would finish in the division this season, majority voted "second" or "third," comprising 62 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, another 27 percent agreed with Browning that the Reds would finish "first," while the remaining 8 percent voted "fourth" or "fifth." God help us all if Cincy finishes below third.